Introduction to Blogs on Peter
Introduction to Blogs on Peter
Peter may well be the most abused man in the Bible. How many times do people say, "Peter took his eyes of the Lord and sank into the water and almost drown. What little faith he had." They say that about the man who actually got out of the boat and walked on water; I don’t see them getting out of the boat and walking on water. He actually walked on water!
The easiest thing in the world to do, is to criticize.
Me, I wish I was half the man Peter was; I would settle for 1/10th !
His first real encounter with Jesus ended with him saying, "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man oh Lord!" At the end of John's gospel he humbly says to Jesus, "Lord thou knowest I love thee."
This Blog in an Introduction to a number of Blogs I will do on Peter. Because Peter is so prominent, meaning there will be quit a number of Blogs, this will not be a sequential series, rather one here, and one there. I want to show how prominent he was in the New Testament, that he was a leader, whom Jesus recognized as a leader, and then installed as a leader, giving him the name "Peter," which means "rock."
And I also want to "reclaim" him from the Roman Catholics. As Spurgeon said about Mary, why do we let the Catholics have exclusive rights to Mary, so too, I want to show with Peter. They, Peter and Mary, are born again Christians, and as such are in our camp.
So Christ renames Peter, and installs him as a leader of the apostolic and Christian band, and leaders lead! They must be bold; they don’t send people, they go and bring people along with them; and if nobody will go with them, they go alone, and then call for people to follow them to where they are.
The Gospels and Acts are filled with Peter, in fact he more prominent than any anyone else except Jesus.
He is the lead man in propagating the gospel, first to the Jews on Pentecost, then to Samaria, and then to the gentiles, in the person of Cornelius, which fact he brings out to stop the bickering during the "Jerusalem Counsel" discussions.
"And when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up, and said unto them, Men and brethren, ye know how that a good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel, and believe." Act 15:7
He was not a man to hesitate. Surrounded by the enemy, he cuts off the ear of the high priest's servant.
When he and John go to the tomb where Jesus had been placed, John arrives first, but does not go in; Peter goes right in!
Yet, I have never seen a book on Peter, he deserves one! I am only writing Blogs, perhaps a writer better than I will write a book on Peter, as F.W. Krummacher did on Elijah and Elisha.
We Protestants focus on Paul; we have surrendered Peter to the Roman Catholics! That is wrong! He is a foundation stone of the Church, but he is not the head; the Roman Catholic teaching about the papacy is a lie.
So let us re-claim Peter!
Below is a basic chronology of Peter's life, as recorded in the bible.
1) Jhn 1:42 = Andrew tells his brother Peter about Jesus.
2) Mat 4:18 = As Jesus walks along the Sea of Galilee he sees Peter casting his net into the sea.
3) Luk 5 = while in the boat with Jesus, Peter says to Jesus, "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man oh Lord."
4) Luk 6; Mat 10:2; Mar 3:16 = Jesus chooses the 12 and gives Simon the name Peter, which means rock.
5) Mat 8:14 = Jesus goes into Peter’s house, and heals his mother-in-law who was sick with a fever.
6) Mat 14:28 = Peter walks on water.
7) Mak 7:17, Mat 15:15 = Peter asks for an explanation of the parable/statement that food does not defile a person.
8) Luk 8:45 = When the woman with issue of blood is healed, it is Peter who says "Lord there are many people."
9) Mar 5:37 = When Jesus heals Jairus’s daughter, he takes only Peter, James, and John into house when him.
10) Luk 9:20; Mat 16:16; Mar 8:29 = When Jesus asks, "Who am I", it is Peter says, "The Christ."
11) Mat 16:18 = Jesus says to Peter, "Thou art Peter, and/but this upon this rock, I will build my church."
12) Mat 16:22; Mar 8:32 = Peter rebukes Jesus, so Jesus says to him, "Get thee behind me Satan."
13) Jhn 6:68 = When many are leaving Jesus, Peter says, "To whom shall we go, you have the words of eternal life."
14) Luk 9:28; Mat 17:1; Mar 9:2 = Peter, James, and John are on the Mount of Transfiguration, but only Peter speaks.
15) Mat 17:24 = The Tax Collector asks Peter, none of the others, if Jesus pays taxes; Jesus tells him to go catch a fish.
16) Mat 18:21 = Peter asks Jesus how many times he should forgive his brother.
17) Luk 12:41 = Peter asks Jesus to whom the parable of the wedding feast pertains.
18) Luk 18:28; Mat 19:27; Mar 10:28 it is Peter who says to Jesus, we have forsaken all and followed thee, what do we get?
19) Mar 11:21 Peter asks about the withered fig tree.
20) Mar 13:3 Peter, James, and John ask privately about signs of the end.
21) Luk 22:8 Jesus sends Peter and John to prepare the Passover, they are the two; a clear example of John never mentioning his own name.
22) Jhn 13 Peter does not want Jesus to wash his feet.
23) Luk 22; Mat 26:33; Mar 14:29 Peter saying he would die with / for Jesus.
24) Mat 26:37 When in the Garden, Jesus takes Peter, James, and John apart while he prays, and when rebuking them, says to Peter, Could you not watch one hour?"
25) Jhn 18:10 Peter cuts off the ear of the high priest’s servant.
26) Luk 22:54; Mat 26:54 Peter follows afar off; warms himself by the fire, etc.
27) Mar 16:7 Jesus tells Mary, Tell my disciples and Peter too.
28) Luk 24:12; Jhn 20:6 Peter and John run to the tomb, but it is Peter who does inside.
29) Jhn 21:3 Peter is the one who says, I am going fishing.
30) Jhn 21:7 When Peter realizes it is Jesus on the shore, he dives into the water to swim and get there first.
31) Jhn 21:11 Peter drags the net up to shore.
32) Jhn 21 Jesus deals with Peter, asking him, Do you love me?
33) Jhn 21:18-19 Jesus tells Peter how he would die.
34) Jhn 21:20 Peter, seeing John following, asks Jesus, What will this man do?
35) Acts 1:15 Peter stands up the leader, directing the replacement of Judas.
36) Acts 2:14 Peter is chief speaker on the day of Pentecost.
37) Acts 3:3 Peter speaks to the man lame at the gate, Peter says, Silver and gold I don’t have.
38) Acts 3:12 Peter seizes the opportunity to preach, even though there were others there.
39) Acts 4:8 Peter is filled with spirit and speaks to the leaders.
40) Acts 5 Peter deals with Ananias and Sapphira.
41) Acts 5:15 It is Peter's shadow which causes people to be healed.
42) Acts 5:29 Peter is the lead speaker, asking the rulers, Should we obey God or men?
43) Acts 8 Peter and John are sent to Samaria, but it is Peter who speaks; he is the one who brings the gospel to Samaria.
44) Acts 9:32 Peter is the one who does around to check on the believers
45) Acts 9:40 Peter raises Dorcus from the dead.
46) Acts 10 Peter brings the gospel to the gentiles in the person of Cornelius.
47) Acts 11 Peter defends his going to Cornelius.
48) Acts 12 Peter is taken prisoner, but an angel gets him out.
49) Acts 15 Peter stands up and stops the bickering back and forth.
There is no question that a book should be written which could deal with each of these events, but beyond what I can do; I will not even write on each of these, rather I will be selective in what I write on, and the Blogs on Peter will be sporadic.
But there are two (2) things to get from this Blog:
1) Peter is all over the NT, and we should not neglect him, in our focusing on Paul.
2) Peter might have been one to talk / act first, and then deal with the consequences, but that is what leaders do, they lead, and Peter was a leader; Peter was a great man!
11 February 2026